Two-thirds of the species we know on Earth will be extinct in just three years

Animal species on Earth are disappearing at an accelerating rate thanks to humans who are responsible for agricultural expansion, wildlife crime, pollution, disease and climate change. And if extinctions continue at this rate, the World Wildlife Fund predicts that more than two-thirds of the world’s vertebrate population—mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles—will be lost in the next three years, reports Laura Smith.

“Paul Ehrlich, a professor of population studies at Stanford University and a co-author of the study, notes half the life forms that people know about are already extinct,” says Smith.

Some species, according to a study in Current Biology, are likely becoming extinct before scientists even have an opportunity to discover and classify them.

Some of the species to watch out for in 2017 include giraffes, some dolphins and porpoises, as well as Jaguars and most large cats.